Interstoff Asia Essential - a successful event

26 Mar '12

5 min read

“After meeting many Chinese sportswear brands, we are confident in joining this fair again in the future,” commented Mr Kim Heon, International Division Manager of Quantum Energy Co Ltd, a high performance and functional fabrics supplier from Korea.
Among the top ten visiting countries were Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, Japan, the US, Indonesia, Thailand and India. Overall, close to 50% of attending buyers were from Hong Kong. Meanwhile the remaining buyers represented garment manufacturers, designers, wholesalers/retailers and press.

Representatives of major fashion labels and high-street retailers came in their droves to see what new and innovative products were on offer. Buyers recorded on-site included American Eagle Outfitters Asia, Ann Taylor Sourcing, Adidas, Benetton, Burberry, Charming Shoppes, Columbia Sportswear, Cortefiel Commercial SA, Debenhams HK Ltd, Eddie Bauer, Esprit De Corp, Esquel Group, Forever 21, Fornari International, H&M , Hanes brands, L.L. Bean, Marks & Spencer, Macy's Merchandising, Moiselle, Otto Int'l, Perry Ellis, Phillips Van Heusen, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Quicksilver, Rebecca Taylor, Reitmans (Canada), S.Oliver, Sears Holdings, Tangs Department Store, Victoria Secret, Tesco, Target Brands, Toppy, Triumph International, Zara and many more.

“It's been better than expected! I've met with buyers from All Saints, DKNY, Lacoste and Li & Fung already,” said Florence Kwok, General Manager for Toray Industries HK Ltd, a knitted fabrics and woven fibre supplier from Japan.

This year 246 suppliers from 13 countries and regions showcased a wide variety of fashion, functional and eco textiles as well as accessories on 8,000 sqm of exhibition space. Participating companies and designers represented Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Macau, Mauritius, Pakistan as well as special six country and region pavilions from Africa, China, India, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

For the first time, eight companies from Africa showcased a variety of organic and fair trade cotton including Craft AID (Mauritius Co Ltd, Enterprise Mauritius, Palmer Limitee Knits, Palmer Limitee Wven, Star Knitwear Group Ltd, Tamk Textile Ltd, Texto Limitee and World Knits Ltd.

“We have all been very happy to see some well-known buyers and are pleased to make our debut in Hong Kong as we're hoping to offer buyer more African sourcing opportunities globally,” said pavilion organiser, Mr JC Mazingue from USAID, a US agency providing assistance to countries in need worldwide.

Buyers also responded positively to the debut pavilion: “I am impressed with the Origin Africa pavilion. This international landscape is at the core value of what all textile trade fairs should possess – not just a sourcing point for new products but also an opportunity to explore diversified business possibilities worldwide,” praised Ms Flora Lai, Director of Ralph Lauren Sourcing Company Ltd.

Interstoff Asia Essential

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